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Self-Discrepancies

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

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The tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde provides a vivid image of a self-discrepancy: a contradiction between two distinct inner “selves.” In reality, self-discrepancies are not confined to moral conflicts nor are they generally as extreme or as rare as the split personality of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Rather, inconsistencies between and among private thoughts, feelings, beliefs, desires, goals, and motivations are quite common across the life span (Markus and Nurius 1986). In adolescence, self-discrepancies are both normative and necessary; their exponential growth following late childhood results from and gives rise to important developmental processes including abstract thinking, goal setting, and goal attainment (Harter 2006; Gestsdottir and Lerner 2008). Despite the prevalence and functionality of self-discrepancies, they are associated with emotional discomfort, especially for midadolescents. This is because adolescents are wrestling with the task of identity formation and are...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Knox College, 2 East South Street, 120, Galesburg, IL, 61401, USA

    Gail M. Ferguson

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  1. Gail M. Ferguson
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Correspondence to Gail M. Ferguson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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Ferguson, G.M. (2018). Self-Discrepancies. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_238

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